Dudek blunder hands Man United 2-1 win

London:

A horrendous blunder by goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek handed Diego Forlan the first of his two goals as Manchester United won 2-1 at Liverpool on Sunday to leave defending champion Arsenal with a four-point lead. By contrast, a wonder save by Fabien Barthez from Dietmar Hamann's powerful, swerving drive near the end made sure that United went home with three points instead of one. The game was well-balanced when United scored twice in three minutes at Anfield. In the 64th minute, Barthez cleared ball from deep, Jamie Carragher headed the ball back to his 'keeper and, under no pressure, Dudek allowed the ball to slide through his legs for the unmarked Forlan to run it into an empty net. Three minutes later, great runs by Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs opened up a gap on the right and Forlan powered the ball between Dudek and the near post. Sami replied for Liverpool in the 82nd minute with a left foot shot after United failed to clear a free kick. Then Barthez arched his back to keep out a bending shot from Dietmar Hamann as the home team fought hard for an equalizer but instead lost for third time in four Premier League games. United manager Alex Ferguson admitted his team had a slice of luck for the first goal. a€œI think we did. The breaks are starting to come our way,a€ he said. a€œIt was the defining moment of the match and turned the game for us. But Liverpool don't line down. They're a team of great courage and spirit,a€ said the United manager who praised his goalkeeper for his late save. Sunday's other two games - Newcastle vs Everton and Leeds vs Charlton - kicked off later. Thierry Henry, who scored three times in Wednesday's 3-1 win at AS Roma in the Champions League, netted two more as the Gunners won by the same scoreline against Aston Villa. The result gave Arsene Wenger's team 35 points from 16 games while Liverpool has 31 and Manchester United, bidding to climb above fourth place Everton, 29. (AP)